Apollo - Prince of Peace
(Note: This is a service for the larger community that includes those who are not Hellenic Pagans.)
Gathering and Welcome:
Hello, and welcome to our Metageitnia service. Today we are celebrating the festival that honors the Greek God Apollo as bringer of peace and harmony between neighbors. The close timing of this ancient Hellenic feast, which happened sometime between August 7 and August 10, with Hiroshima Day, which is on August 6, is quite a coincidence, however you may choose to define that word.
For those of you who don't know who we are, we are Hellenic Pagans, and we appear to be in the minority in the Pagan community. We follow the ancient Greek religion, in a form that is customized for us as Canadians, and specifically, we are devotees of Apollo, the God of light, music, healing, peace, philosophy, and many other interests.
Today, we focus on the theme of Peace, which is much needed in the world today.
Chalice Lighting and Prayer:
Today, we sit down with Apollo and with each other, to meditate on peace. Phoebus Apollo, we welcome you here, not only for our joy, but to illuminate the ways of all our doings until everyone can come out of the darkness and into your marvellous light.
Candles of Concern and Celebration:
We now have time for lighting candles of concern and celebration. I'll light the first candle in appreciation of our opportunity to get together to celebrate in honor of Apollo and to think about world peace.
(People get a chance to light candles.)
I light this last candle for all the joys and concerns that must remain unspoken.
Rite of Water Blessing:
We will now ask Apollo to bless this water with a special prayer, and then the blessing bowl will be passed around the circle. Each person is invited to dip their fingers into the water and touch their own face, to symbolize Apollo's protection.
Phoebus Apollo, we ask you now to bless and energize this water as we use it in faith. Renew the living spring of your life within us and protect us in spirit and body that we may be free from negativity and live always in the consciousness of your presence. So be it.
First Reading: The Ancient Greek Celebration of Peace
Responsive Reading: If There is to be Peace in the World
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the heart.
-- Lao Tze
Second Reading: A Peaceful Society
Apollo Prince of Peace - a short talk
Prayer:
Apollo, Prince of Peace and Healer of the World,
Come into our hearts and stay.
Show us how to get to know ourselves, the good and the bad.
Teach us how to be reasonable and moderate in what we do.
Remind us to respect the power we have as individuals and as a group.
And guide us to respect the lives of all people, and to be committed to justice and the peaceful resolution of conflict, within ourselves, and in the world.
Rite of Light Sharing:
(A box of candles is handed around the circle so each participant can take one.)
For the ancient people, fire was an important element in their religious rituals. In people's homes, the hearth fire was kindled in honor of the Goddess Hestia, and at Apollo's sacred sites and temples, a flame was kept burning continuously. When an individual or group of people moved to a new home, a flame was brought from the old place to the new, which gave a feeling of continuity and a feeling that the divine energy that supported them in their daily lives would be with them at their new location. And so, the spirit of Metageitnia was to bring Apollo's peace with you, wherever you may choose to go and live, and to keep Apollo's peace alive, to welcome those who have chosen to come and live near you.
We now come to the part of the service where we'll share the element of fire to symbolize our relationship with the divine, and to honor Apollo in particular.
I will light a candle from the chalice, and then light the candle of the next person who hands the element of fire on to the next person. May the warmth and peace of Apollo's light be with us all.
May Apollo and the other Gods and Goddesses bless us, and may we be conscious of their power and support in our daily lives. So be it.
Candles are blown out and chalice is extinguished, followed by time for discussion.
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